New build

Ruffty^

I'm replacing my early intel quad core and ancient nvidia 8800gts (which I have baked to repair ). This build is sort of upper middle range. The most intensive thing I will be doing is a bit of gaming, no interest in overclocking. This build is quite similar to a few others that have been posted, except that I have not dropped 300-399€ on a gfx card. While the gfx will let the build down a little, I think the card I have selected is adequate.

I have an OCZ600 psu that should provide enough juice. Anything else I've left out, I already have or don't need.

Item|Price
Sapphire Radeon HD7850 - 2GB - PCI-E|€244.95
ASRock Z77 Extreme4 - Socket 1155 - ATX|€137.95
Intel core i5 3570K 3.2GHz 6MB S1155|€224.95
Shipping|FREE
Total|€607.85


Item|Price
8GB G.Skill DDR3 PC3-17000 2133MHz RipjawsX Series for Intel Z68/P67 (9-11-10-28) Dual Channel kit|€ 81.18
Shipping|Free!
Total|€ 81.18


I suppose I have 3 things I'd like to run past people;

1. How is it that NVIDIA pcie2.0 1gig cards cost the same as AMD pcie3.0 2gig cards? It seems for my purpose the AMD cards are far better value. In saying that, I'm just getting into reading reviews now.

2. I'd like the ram I mentioned above. I had a look at the compatibility tables on G.Skill and ASRock sites. They don't have either in compatibility lists as far as I can see. I think it is because they are both newish. Anyone think there would be a compatibility problem, should I err on the side of caution?

3. Any other thoughts you may have.

Any input appreciated

Sarz91

Ruffty^ wrote: »

2. I'd like the ram I mentioned above. I had a look at the compatibility tables on G.Skill and ASRock sites. They don't have either in compatibility lists as far as I can see. I think it is because they are both newish. Anyone think there would be a compatibility problem, should I err on the side of caution?

Is there any reason for needing that specific RAM? Outside of benchmarks you would hard pressed to see any kind of difference in RAM speeds. General rule of thumb is to go for the cheapest. The difference in speed is minimal.

Procrastastudy

As far as I know all the AMD cards are better value to performace than the nVidia ones. Its only at the top end that nVidia are out performing AMD.

Because AMD supports eyefinity (multi-monitor) they generally seem to ship with a bigger frame buffer. nVidia's surround system (multi-monitor) is still very much in its infancy and is obnoxiously expensive. That said it does manage to avoid using fecking display port!

Ruffty^

No reason really for that ram, other than speed. I didn't realise the difference in normal performance would be that small, thanks Sarz91. I think I will downgrade the ram.

I don't see myself using more than one monitor for GCDLawstudent, but that is interesting. http://www.anandtech.com/bench/GPU12/372 This website has some good comparisons.

U_Fig

If you have no interest in overclocking why get a k series CPU and z77.. Save yourself some money by using cheaper parts. Like h61 or h67 or h77 motherboard..and say 3450 CPU or even the 3570.

The only thing I'll say is having the option to Overclock in the future is there should you need it as easy as changing 2 things in the bios just add an aftermarket cooler but if you are not interested then theres no point going for that CPU and motherboard..

Also you are paying double the price for now where near double the performance on the ram..

I'm not really that knowledgable about GPU's but I'm using the HD 7850 at the moment and it's a great card.